Brave, resilient
Hue city in the historic days of April, the national flag fluttered everywhere.
50 years after the country's reunification, the appearance of this place has changed a lot but still retains many historical relics and artifacts related to the General Offensive and Uprising in the spring of Mau Than 1968.
Hidden behind the ancient, moss-covered walls around the Hue Imperial City, at the Thua Phu Prison relic, the solemn images at the City History Museum or the monument of the 11 girls of the Perfume River... are historical stories about the 25-day and night battle between the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the American imperialists and the puppet government of the Republic of Vietnam that took place 57 years ago.
The wall behind the Hue Imperial City, parallel to Xuan 68 Street in Phu Xuan District, is still riddled with bullet holes - one of the clearest evidences of the fierce war of the past. Mr. Nguyen Van Nhat (born in 1953), a resident of this street, still remembers the first moments of the general offensive.
"From December 30 to the first day of Tet that year, nothing happened. People were still happy and celebrating Tet as usual. At about 2 a.m. on the second day of Tet, the liberation army secretly approached the area where my family lives now. The soldiers went to each house to tell people to close their doors and find a safe shelter. My father happily said that the revolution had returned," Mr. Nhat recalled.
At 2:33 a.m. on January 30, 1968 (dawn of the second day of Tet Mau Than), after the opening artillery barrage, our army's attack forces simultaneously captured many targets in both the northern and southern wings of the ancient capital Hue, Thua Thien - Hue province (now Hue city) such as the provincial governor's palace, police station, Radio Station, Thuan Hoa hotel, Huong Giang (American lair), Phu Bai airport...
At 6 a.m. the same day, telegrams of victory came from everywhere. Our troops deployed in the suburban districts of Thua Thien - Hue province also occupied communes. Thua Phu prison was quickly captured by our troops, liberating more than 2,000 revolutionary soldiers and civilians imprisoned by the enemy.
Most of Thua Thien - Hue province with about 90% of the population was quickly controlled by the liberation army. The flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam fluttered on the tops of the Hue Flag Tower, Phu Van Lau...
The people of Thua Thien - Hue province were happy, completely believed in and supported the revolution. Families participated in providing food, drinking water, and taking care of the liberation army soldiers so that they could fight. "My sisters and I actively sewed flags, wrote slogans to encourage our army, attack the American invaders, and called on the remaining soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam to surrender," Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (80 years old) in Tay Loc ward, Hue city recalled.
The US and its puppet army began to counterattack in the following days. The liberation army fought bravely and tenaciously.
An article once recorded the story of Ms. Hoang Thi No, a member of the "11 girls of the Huong River" guerrilla squad participating in the 1968 Tet Mau Than campaign in Hue: "On the 12th of Tet, the enemy organized a fierce counterattack. The squad, together with the main force, organized a counterattack, repelled a battalion of American marines, burned many tanks, and destroyed many enemies. However, many soldiers heroically sacrificed themselves in that battle."
Strategic turning point
The General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968 took place throughout the South. Our army and people attacked 4 major cities, 37 towns, and hundreds of townships and district capitals. Thua Thien - Hue province was one of the key areas of the general offensive.
After 25 days and nights of fighting and taking control of Thua Thien - Hue (from January 31 to February 24, 1968), our army and people destroyed, captured, and disintegrated tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, shot down and destroyed many planes, warships, and military vehicles, liberated 20 communes, 271 villages with 210,000 people, and established governments in 200 villages.
By holding Thua Thien - Hue for 25 days, especially the ancient capital Hue, the liberation army achieved the greatest success and held the position the longest compared to other cities. Later, Uncle Ho presented the army and people of Thua Thien - Hue province with 8 golden words: "Attack, rise up, brave, resilient".
The victory of our army and people in the General Offensive and Uprising in the spring of Mau Than 1968 in the South in general, and in Thua Thien - Hue in particular, quickly and strongly changed the situation of the war, dealt a fatal blow to the will to invade and bankrupt the "Local War" strategy of the US imperialists and their lackeys. The victory of our army and people forced them to end the first destructive war in the North, accept direct negotiations with us at the Paris Conference, creating a strategic turning point for the resistance war against the US to save the country.
The general offensive simultaneously caused the wave of resistance against the war of aggression among the American people to rise to an unprecedented height.
The victory of the general offensive was the great crystallization of the strength of the entire nation, an immortal heroic epic written with the great courage, will, intelligence and spirit of self-sacrifice of comrades, compatriots and soldiers of the two regions, the South and the North, blending the Party's will with the people's heart, with the aspiration for national independence and national reunification.
The victory of the Mau Than 1968 spring campaign helped us complete the goal of "fighting to drive the Americans out", switch to the goal of "fighting to overthrow the puppet regime" and achieve complete victory in the spring of 1975.
Next: The Battle of "Hamburger Hill"
COMMON STRENGTHSource: https://baohaiduong.vn/tro-lai-nhung-chien-truong-lich-su-bai-3-dat-hue-kien-cuong-xuan-68-409941.html
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